Prince Harry and six other public figures face a legal costs bill of up to £34.5m after losing a privacy case against the Daily Mail's publisher, Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL). A High Court judge made an exceptional ruling ordering the claimants to pay far more than the pre-trial agreed costs, saying they had pursued the case in a way that was "unreasonable to a high degree" by failing to withdraw serious allegations they could no longer substantiate.

The seven claimants — also including Sir Elton John, David Furnish, Sir Simon Hughes, Baroness Lawrence, Sadie Frost and Liz Hurley — must pay an initial £9.54m by next Friday, with insurance covering up to £16.2m of ANL's costs. However, the ruling opens the door for the publisher to pursue the full £34.5m it says it spent defending the case, potentially leaving Harry and the others facing a shortfall of around £18m. Mr Justice Nicklin, who dismissed the unlawful information-gathering claims on 7 July, declined to cap ANL's recoverable costs despite calling the figure "excessive". The claimants have until 2 October to appeal; ANL called the judgment "a devastating critique" of the case.